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<title>“There is nothing they can say to me that’s worse than what I’ve told myself.” by Yuuki_Nyanmaru</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28317621">“There is nothing they can say to me that’s worse than what I’ve told myself.”</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yuuki_Nyanmaru/pseuds/Yuuki_Nyanmaru'>Yuuki_Nyanmaru</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Young Love [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Arashi (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - High School, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:28:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>671</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28317621</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yuuki_Nyanmaru/pseuds/Yuuki_Nyanmaru</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>“They don’t know you, they have no right to say those things about you, and you shouldn’t think that either. You’re not wrong for being who you are. Love yourself, please.”</em>
</p>
<p>  <em>Masaki stared at him surprised but also very confused, “Why are you telling me this? It’s fishy.”</em></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aiba Masaki/Sakurai Sho</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Young Love [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2073900</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Sakuraiba Tanabata 2020-2021</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>“There is nothing they can say to me that’s worse than what I’ve told myself.”</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello! Today, it's time for the first series! I'm not really good with names so sorry if the series' title is a bit 'lame' hahaha.<br/>Hope you enjoy it ^^</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Giggles came from outside as he attempted to remove the chalk’s powder from his uniform’s trousers. Hopefully, by this time, most of the students were going home and no one would come to search for him in the bathroom.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Since that boy he had confessed to two weeks ago leaked Aiba’s bisexuality, everyone at school had targeted him with their pranks and mischiefs, making his daily life very, very hard. The only reason why he confessed to that guy was that he trusted him; Masak thought that he would have never told anyone about that. And instead, here he was, the new laughing stock of the school.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Was there anything funny? Was there something to laugh about? He couldn’t really wrap his head around that. The worst part was that now all his classmates avoided him: the boys thought that he was attracted to them, and the girls believed that he was gay and all their fantasies about him were now crushed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His hands, which were stroking his trousers gently, started to move frantically until the rage boiled so much in his veins that he almost ripped the fabric in his hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why me…” he whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At that moment, the bathroom door opened and Aiba froze. Slowly looking up, he saw a boy closing the door behind himself and walking toward the sink. He calmly washed his hands and then went to dry them under the hand dryer, which was next to Aiba.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re Aiba Masaki, right?” the boy asked after some time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Guess I’m a celebrity now,” he replied, sighing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other one chuckled, “You could say so.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When the loud sound of the dryer stopped, the guy took some steps backward to face him, “You shouldn’t pay attention to what they say.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There is nothing they can say to me that’s worse than what I’ve told myself,” he mumbled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They don’t know you, they have no right to say those things about you, and you shouldn’t think that either. You’re not wrong for being who you are. Love yourself, please.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Masaki stared at him surprised but also very confused, “Why are you telling me this? It’s fishy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This guy in front of him was the first person to not make fun of him after what happened one week ago; he was actually encouraging him and comforting him. This made Aiba both grateful and suspicious because it could all be a trap to get pranked once again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You remind me about myself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The guy sighed and put his hands in his trouser’s pockets, “I transferred to this school this year for your exact reason.” When he saw that Aiba stayed silent to let him speak, he went on, “People found out about my homosexuality and I went through what you’re experiencing now. It got so bad that even my parents came to know it and we decided that it was better to transfer me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aiba got taken aback by that sudden confession. They were strangers, and yet this guy was trusting him with his secret, “Aren’t you afraid that I’m going to leak this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You won’t because you know what it means to be alone against a whole bunch of brainless idiots.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That sentence managed to get a smile out of him, and the guy followed his chuckle. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you,” he said, finally looking at the other guy’s eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy nodded and turned but Aiba blocked him by his arm, “Won’t it be like running away?” When the other student furrowed his eyebrows, he explained further, “To change school. Wouldn’t people think that I’m a coward?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No one should judge you for searching for a better place where you can live peacefully.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After those words, he let his arm free, smiling. However, the boy stood there for some more seconds, before speaking again, “If you need anything, just come to class 3-A. Ask for Sakurai Sho.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Won’t you be embarrassed by me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sakurai’s answer came when he was already almost out of the bathroom, “That will never happen.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
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